Splatoon is in These Lists
In addition to the similar games listed above, which have been linked to this game specifically in the database, you may find games with a similar theme to Splatoon in the following lists:
As children get older, they develop stronger ideas of what they want to play. Friends at school and YouTube stars create popular gaming fads for the latest titles. These are a lot of fun, but children’s choices can end up being narrowed down to big-budget or on-trend games. The games suggested here go beyond the usual suspects. While offering age-appropriate alternatives to older-rated games, they are still exuberant, intriguing and create raucous gaming fun that fires the imagination of children aged 7 to 12 years old.
The British Academy Games Awards are presented annually to recognise, honour and reward outstanding creative achievement in Games. The awards categories reflect the wealth and diversity of the games sector.
The awards started in 2004 and are presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). For parents, they are a great way of discovering brilliant games to play in their family. The games included here are from these categories:
-
The Family Games Award highlights games that will work really well for parents and children. These often include multiplayer features and feature a cast of family-friendly characters.
-
The Games Beyond Entertainment award is also of interest as this highlights more unusual games with an emphasis on storytelling that addresses topics that parents may find appealing themselves.
There's a gap when children are starting to outgrow PEGI 12 rated games but aren't necessarily ready for PEGI 16 rated shooting and fighting experiences. The games in this list offer some options that are genuinely exuberant and exhilarating but with lower levels of violence.
We go through some really good examples of these exciting, fast-action game for a range of ages. They are all PEGI 12 or under, apart from
Halo, which we have included as this is a lower ESRB TEEN rating in the US for the latest release and mostly features space-themed rather than realistic violence.
These games, compiled by
Christy Smith, have graphics styles or options that make the games easier to see for people with impaired vision. Many of these games include
-
Fonts: Larger, scalable font sizes and bold fonts, like Moving Out.
-
Zoom: Ability to increase the size of all objects on the screen such as in Untitled Goose Game's zoom feature.
-
Contrast: Settings to adjust contrast and brightness, as well as distinct colours with good lighting, like Splatoon.
-
Non-Visual Cues: Sounds and haptic feedback that help direct the player, like Lego games.
-
Colourblind: Modes that invert colours or change colours to accommodate different types of colourblindness, such as in Hue.
-
Screen Readers: Functions that read text and menus as they are highlighted and appear on the screen, such as in Eagle Island.
In addition, there are other ways to make games easier for people with low vision to play. Some offer modes that lower the difficulty, like the Assist Mode in Super Mario Odyssey. Playing with a sighted friend or family member can make things much easier.
Some platforms provide
system-wide accessibility features that help. The Nintendo Switch offers a built-in zoom function, while the Xbox offers co-pilot mode that allows two people to play as a single player. Such features create necessary flexibility for players.
There are many different types of visual impairments, and no two people ever see things the exact same way. Because of this, games that are accessible for one person may not be accessible to all low vision gamers. For gamers who find visual games too cumbersome, audio-only games may provide a solution.
It may be difficult for parents and caregivers who are fully sighted to understand which games will be easier to see. The best way to learn about what works and what doesn’t is hearing from people with impaired vision themselves.
Can I Play That? has a variety of reviews discussing accessibility of games for people with disabilities, by people with disabilities.
One of the most exciting aspects of modern video games is playing with other people online. It's a big step from playing something like
Mario Kart with family and friends in the same room to going online to play with people you don't know.
With the benefits and opportunities of online play come the issues and potential dangers of children interacting with people they don't know. We've worked with the Breck Foundation to create this list of games that are great for parents, carers and children to take first steps online together.
The
Breck Foundation is a charity founded by Lorin LaFave after the tragic burder of her 14-year old son, Breck Bednar, in 2014, through online grooming. Breck was groomed while enjoying his passions of computing and gaming. The foundation aims to ensure that no child is harmed through grooming and exploitation while enjoying their time on the internet.
After speaking with Lorin on BBC Radio, together, we hatched an idea to offer this resource to help anchor online gaming as a part of family life. By playing online with your child from an early age you create a context where mistakes are made together. This establishes an open conversation where your child is more likely to tell you if something happens online that doesn't feel right, and more likely to listen to your ongoing advice and guidance.
This works with Breck Foundation's, ‘Play virtual, Live real’ motto that reminds children to never meet up alone in a private place with someone they have met only online, to ensure that online play is safe, enjoyable and connected to attentive adults.
The games in this list offer small steps to go from local play to online play. Some games, like
Roblox are designed for young players with lots of special safety settings. Other games, like
Sky, are designed to lead players into co-operating with each other with in-game purchases you give away, and interactions that start limited and expand as you gain experience. Then there are co-operative games like
Ibb and Obb where you work together and communicate with gestures on the screen.
You can use Family Settings and Parental Controls on your system to limit how your child interacts with other players online. As well as finding the right games to get them started, it's also important that you play with them and keep game screens in shared family spaces so you can see what they are doing.
The Wii created a new genre of motion-controlled video games. But it's initially Wii Remote controller was a little limited. Nintendo shortly brought out addition that added more one-to-one detection of movement: Motion Plus.
You could purchase the Motion Plus block and plug it into existing Wii Remote controllers, or purchase updated Wii Remote controllers that included Motion Plus. These newer controllers are indicated by the Motion Plus nomenclature on the bottom. This nuanced motion-controlled continued on to the Wii U in games that used the Wii Remote controls and needed extra fidelity for the player.
Wii U Party minigames,
Nintendo Land, Table Tennis and Archery in
Wii Sports Resort as well as the exploration and combat in
Zelda Skyward Sword each stand out as really good use of this extended Motion Plus controls.
When a young child shines at activities like chess, playing the guitar, maths, tennis, football or public speaking parents and carers are used to recognising talent and helping them develop. However, when a child rises to the top of their age group in competitive video games we are often blind to their talent and opportunities.
The
British Esports Association is a not-for-profit national body established to promote esports in the UK, increase its level of awareness, improve standards and inspire future talent.
It helps teachers, parents, carers and advocates distinguish between obsession and discipline in their children’s video game playing. This opens the door to the adults in children’s lives being ambitious about their game playing and celebrate successes as they would when children pass music exams, win at football and so on.
Esports offers an opportunity not only to prize money (at the top level) and status, but international recognition, travel, personal development and career potential. There are many roles in esports outside of the professional player position, such as coaching, content creation, management, commentating, production and more.
Below is a list of games that are all played competitively in competitions that require high skill, training and talent. Unlike other video games, Esports are typically played competitively with many people tuning in to watch tournaments online on livestream platforms such as Twitch.
British Esports also runs the British Esports Championships for school and college students aged 12+, and has also partnered with Pearson to offer the Level 3 Esports BTEC, the first qualification of its kind.
Video games often create spaces like beautiful paintings. Designers and artists spend years crafting worlds that invite us to interact with realistic or stylised brushstrokes. The games in this list let the play take part in that painting process.
Some of the games here, like
Okami or Concrete Genie, use painting as a way to solve puzzles to progress through the game. Other games in the list, like
Splatoon, De Blob or Chicory, use painting as a way interact with the game world itself. Then there are games like
The Unfinished Swan, that use painting as a way of revealing what is in front of you, giving the impression of limit faculties. Finally, there are games like
Ete or
Dordogne, that use painting in the game to express emotion.
Unlike the world of real painting, in video games anyone can create a masterpiece. The game
Sloppy Forgeries, uses this idea as its main mechanic. You are presented with a classic painting and given a limited time to race other players to recreate it. In amongst the frantic silliness is something lovely. The usual barriers to creativity fall, as we all get stuck in and have a go. Another notable game is
If Found where you are erasing your drawings and paintings in a powerful way that aligns with a narrative of rediscovered identity.
Video games are often known for their gun play. However, not all shooting games are the same. The simple aiming and firing mechanic is creatively combined with other aspects of play that greatly alters the experience.
Movement Shooters are shooting games where you have a high degree of control of how your character moves around the world. Along with the usual walking, running, crouching, there are ways to swing, jetpack, climb, wall-run and generally use parkour-style motion to get where you need to be.
This not only adds novelty to the otherwise repetitive nature of shooting games, but changes how they are played more generally. In a standard shooting game, a viable tactic is to hide somewhere and pick off enemies as they appear in the distance. Movement Shooters get around this unpopular technique (sometimes called "camping") because the ability to rapidly move through the world enables you to find and deal with hiding snipers.
The movement aspect of play also adds another significant skill to learn in these games. Techniques like Strafe-jumping, Circle Jumping and Bunny Hopping enable players to squeeze fast motion from their character. Add to this the combination of swinging, gliding and using architecture to transition smoothly from floor to sky and its clear that this can take many years to perfect.
When we wrote the Taming Gaming book we packed the second half with full colour game ‘recipes’ as a resource for parents and families. They are grouped in categories depending on the style of game you are looking for, whether you want to play on your own, or with your family and friends.
The Family Gaming Database grew out of the book. At first it was just going to be a way to search the 60 or so games in the book. With 1000’s of parents soon using the database it became clear we should grow it to cover more games. So, today we have 1314 games.
Here are all the games from the book:
Games for non-gaming grown-ups
These games are perfect if you have never played one before. They open the door to the gaming world for non-gaming parents and carers.
Nurture child-like imagination
These games are for children under seven years old who will, with some help, discover activities they want to try that will expand their imaginations, while establishing the role of your guidance and engagement as part of the gaming world as they grow up.
Nourish Youthful Ambition
As children get older, they develop stronger ideas of what they want to play. Friends at school and YouTube stars create popular gaming fabs for the latest titles. The games suggested here go beyond the usual suspects.
Laugh at Silliness
Video games have their roots in fun and play. This makes them an excellent way to forget the worries of the day and dive into some silly fun together. The games on this list have been selected because they get players doing absurd activities and chuckling together.
Inhabit Another World
The games in this list invite you to spend time in spaces that have a sense of place, life and character.
Compete on the Couch
Raucous, unbounded, exuberant all-age, competitive fun is something video games are known for. These games can play a bit-part in raising children to be magnanimous in victory and generous in defeat.
Work Together to Thrive
Play is more fun when it’s shared. Along with team work the games on this list use the fact that the players are all sitting next to each other. The fun is often as much about the conversations (and arguments) that happen in the room as what’s happening on the screen.
Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes
While many games include characters to interact with, some are specifically designed to make relationships a central element. These games offer a unique way to think deeply about how we relate to each other to the games people play.
Wake up Your Emotions
Video games are known for high-octane, adrenaline fuelled entertainment, but there are many that address the players emotions as much as their dexterity. The games in the following list create emotionally rich spaces in which to explore scenarios with feelings rather than facts.
Matinee Fisticuffs and Shoot-outs
Sometimes you just want to play the hero. These games are violent and include shooting but as with B-movies and 1980’s TV series, it’s as much about the quips, characters and fantasy settings as it is about the killing.
Face Tough Decisions
Games create virtual worlds where you can experience life from another perspective. This can be lighthearted but also presents ethical scenarios that require you to think carefully about consequences. These games each place you in a challenging situation to give you a first hand experience of what it’s like.
Solve a Mystery
Like a good crime drama or whodunnit, solving mysteries and puzzles is a good way to engage in a story. The following games present you with a mysterious scenario to be solved. Whether with direct puzzles, locations to investigate or crime scenarios to deduce, they offer a unique first-hand sleuthing challenge.
The Game Awards highlight the best video games each year. It's an award produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley. Games are selected by video game news organizations who then vote on the games to choose the winners in each of the categories.
